Cook,Bell ring Windies death knell on Day Five

5th-wicket stand of 132 helps england recover after West Indies raise hopes with two early strikes.

Alastair Cook and Ian Bell made composed fifties to guide England to a comfortable five-wicket win over West Indies in the first Test at Lords on Monday. The hosts had crumbled to 57 for four chasing 191 for victory on a chilly morning but Cook and Bell steadied the ship with a fifth-wicket partnership of 132. Cook was out for 79 just before the end but Bell steered England home,clipping Marlon Samuels for four through mid-wicket to seal victory and finish on 63 not out.

Theres always a bit of pressure when youre chasing a score but we always had faith the wicket was going to stay very flat, England captain Andrew Strauss said. It was an outstanding performance from Cook and Bell,they played in a very professional way and showed their class. We had to work very hard for this victory and it certainly wasnt a formality to wrap it up today.

After resuming on 10 for two,Jonathan Trott became Kemar Roachs third victim of the innings when he nicked a rapid seaming delivery to Darren Sammy at slip before Kevin Pietersen edged a catch to wicketkeeper Denesh Ramdin trying to pull a short ball from Shannon Gabriel. The touring side have won only one of their last 18 tests in England and trailed the hosts by 155 runs on first innings but a battling 345 second time round kept them in the match.

Gayle for Tests?

Meanwhile,West Indies skipper Sammy kept the door open for Chris Gayle to make an early return to West Indies team,stating there have been top-order batting concerns and selectors will need to look into it. Gayle,who has finished his commitments with the IPL,is expected only for the ODI series.

Whatever happens outside this squad takes its own course, Sammy told Sky Sports. Whoever comes in we will welcome them into the team and hopefully they will help. It is up to the selectors to select the team. Sammy was also fined 80 percent of his match fee for his team8217;s slow over rate.

Brief scores: West Indies 243 amp; 345 lost to England 398 amp; 193/5 in 46.1 overs A Cook 79,I Bell 63 n.o,K Roach 3/60,D Sammy 1/25 by 5 wickets